Note: This program is only available to customers of one of the state's investor-owned utilities (Alliant, Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power Company, Xcel Energy). Customers of a municipal utility or rural electric cooperative are ineligible for this program.

Beginning in January 2014, The Department of Commerce (DOC) will administer a state Made in Minnesota Solar Energy Production Incentive. Systems must be less than 40 kW-DC and be certified as "Made in Minnesota" (see below for details). Residential, commercial, non-profit, and multi-residential customers are eligible for the incentive. The incentive rate must be set by the Commissioner of Commerce, and will be recalculated annually for new contracts. Each incentive contract will be a 10-year term; payments will be made to the customer no later than July 1st following the year of production and RECs are transferred to the utility. The utility must provide a meter to measure the system production at the cost of the customer.

The Department of Commerce established the following incentive amounts for the 2014 calendar year:

Interested customers must apply between January 1st and February 29th of each year from 2014 through 2023. At the end of the application period, the DOC will select applications at random. No systems will begin to receive payments after December 31, 2024, and no payments will be made for generation that occurs after December 31, 2033.

If the applicant pool allows, approximately half of the funds will be allocated for residential customers and approximately half will go to commercial and non-profit customers. For the purposes of this allocation, multi-family residential facilities are considered residential facilities unless the PV system exceeds 10 kW in capacity, or the output from the PV system is purchased by several residents (shared ownership).

Manufacturers interested in participating in the incentive program must apply to the DOC to be certified as "Made in Minnesota." In order to be eligible, the PV module must be manufactured at a facility located in Minnesota that is registered and authorized to manufacture in the state. Systems must be UL 1703-certified by a UL or UL-approved agency, and systems must be manufactured by a process that includes tabbing, stringing, and lamination, or must be manufactured by interconnecting low-voltage DC PV elements that produce the final useful PV output of the modules. Modules manufactured by attaching microinveters, DC optimizers, or other power electronics to a laminate or solar PV module that has received UL 1703 certification outside of Minnesota are not eligible.